The Love Promise
by daughter of athena 2000
Summary: In 1860s Texas, things aren't easy. There's hard work, disease, Indians, and many more things that aren't necessarily good. But somewhere, mixed in with all of those things, is one great thing: love.


AN: Hey guys! So, I've grown up watching/reading Old Yeller, and I've seen Savage Sam tons of times but haven't had the opportunity to read the book yet (I'm hoping to get it soon!) And I was watching Old Yeller and Savage Sam the other day, and I could find any fanfics for either one! D: SO, I wrote a fanfic (and hopefully, I'll write some more of these!) for Savage Sam, because I love the Lisbeth/Travis pairing (my friend and I came up with a ship name for them: Trisbeth). I think this'll be a collection of one shots, but if y'all like this one shot and want it to be a story, send me your ideas/suggestions (either through review or PM) and I'll do my best! Alright, well, thanks for reading, and I hope you like it! :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Savage Sam or Old Yeller.

3rd Person Limited:

Travis was woken from a peaceful sleep by the sound of sobbing. With a start, he sat up and looked around for the source of the sobbing, his eyes finally finding it to be his girlfriend, Lisbeth. She was tossing and turning, tears streaming down her face. This wasn't the first nightmare that Lisbeth had had since being captured by the Apache, but it still broke Travis's heart to see her in such terror. That was why their parents had approved of them sharing a bed in the Coates household; Travis was the only person who could calm Lisbeth down.

"Lisbeth. Lisbeth, wake up," Travis said, gently shaking her shoulder in an attempt to wake her. "Lisbeth!"

She gasped and shot up, almost hitting Travis in the head. Lisbeth looked around desperately for a second before her eyes found Travis and she threw herself onto him. Lisbeth's arms wound themselves tightly around Travis's neck, and his went securely around her waist.

"T-TRAVIS!" Lisbeth sobbed into her boyfriend's shoulder.

"Shh, shh Lisbeth. It's okay, darlin', it's okay." Travis stroked her hair gently, still holding her tightly.

After a few minutes, Lisbeth calmed down to small sniffles, and Travis pulled back enough to wipe the tear tracks from her face. "Lisbeth, what is it? What's wrong?" he asked worriedly.

"I'm-m sorry, Travis. I'm just bein' silly; I'm sorry that I woke you. Go back to sleep." Lisbeth managed a small smile and laid back down, her back to her boyfriend.

Travis frowned a little before leaning over Lisbeth's shoulder to see her face. He placed an arm around his girlfriend's waist and whispered, "Lisbeth, please talk to me."

She gave a small sigh before sitting back up and leaning on Travis's shoulder. "I...I had a dream about them engines that captured us. That one that took an interest in me, he...he almost did some things to me after you were separated from us. That one Comanche stopped him, but in my dream...the-the Comanche didn't stop him." Lisbeth shuddered, and Travis felt his jaw tighten in anger. He wanted to kill that Apache if someone hadn't already. He could've gone out at that moment and done it without remorse. But he couldn't think about that at that moment; he had to focus on Lisbeth.

Travis took his girlfriend's chin in his hand and forced it upward gently, so she was looking him in the eyes. "Lisbeth, do you remember what I told you when we were captured by those Apaches?"

"You said you'd never let them touch me," she whispered, staring into his eyes.

"I meant it then, and I mean it now. No one will ever, EVER hurt you with me around. I promise you."

Travis kissed Lisbeth sweetly, love coursing through his veins for this beautiful woman.

When their lips disconnected, they rubbed their noses together gently and laid back down, Lisbeth's head on his chest and one of Travis's arms around her waist, the other one around her shoulders. His head rested on one of the pillows that lay against the headboard.

Lisbeth soon went right to sleep, but Travis found it hard to do so himself. His thoughts raced with what Lisbeth had told him. He knew that she wouldn't tell him anymore about it, and he didn't want to scare her anymore than she already was. As much as he hated to, he'd have to ask Arliss about it. He didn't like the idea of asking his little brother about things like that, but he had to know.

His last thought was, "I swear, if I find that damn engine, I'll kill him."

*The Next Morning*

Travis awoke the next morning to find that the sun was coming through the cracks in the walls and Arliss was already awake and in the kitchen.

Travis looked down and saw that Lisbeth was still very much asleep, so he gently untangled himself from her and rose, pulling the cover back over her. He quietly dressed and padded into the kitchen, seeing Arliss attempting to cook but failing miserably.

"Arliss! What a mess! And would you please be quiet; Lisbeth's trying to sleep!" Travis whisper-shouted at his little brother.

"Well, maybe if you didn't sleep so late, I wouldn't get so hungry and have to make a mess!" Arliss retorted in a whisper.

"I'll make breakfast; just...go sit over there!"

"Fine!" Arliss crossed his arms, gave a small huff of indignation, and sat down at the table. "And just so you know, it's not breakfast you should be making-you should be making lunch."

Travis was surprised that Arliss knew the time (he never paid attention to those things), but he was more surprised that he had slept so late. He figured it was because he didn't sleep much the previous night; he had laid awake half the time and tossed and turned the other half.

"How do you know what time it is?" Travis questioned his brother, glancing up from the meal that he was beginning to make.

"Uncle Beck taught me how to look at the sun and know what time it is," Arliss answered.

Travis nodded in understanding, sort of impressed. "Arliss," Travis began slowly, "when I was separated from you and Lisbeth-and y'all were still with those engines-there was an Indian that took a real interest in Lisbeth. Did he...try anything?"

"Well," Arliss said, munching on a piece of bread and looking down thoughtfully, "I'm not entirely sure. Sometimes I didn't see Lisbeth because they had us separated. But...he used to look at her, laugh and say a few things. Don't know what he said, of course, because he didn't speak English, ya know? But I don't know what happened when I wasn't with her; sometimes she came back lookin' real scared, and I don't know why. She wouldn't tell me." Arliss shrugged. "Why?"

Travis and Arliss looked at each other, and Travis couldn't bring himself to tell his innocent little brother the truth. "No reason," he lied.

Arliss shrugged again and stood up, brushing his hands off on his shirt before walking outside.

Travis looked up as the door closed, and he had to wonder where his brother was going. But his thoughts were interrupted by a pair of arms wrapping around his waist. Travis smiled a bit and laid his arms over Lisbeth's.

"Mornin'," she said, smiling up at him.

"Mornin'," he said, returning her smile.

Travis turned around so that he could hold her, looking at Lisbeth as she looked at him.

"How long have you been up?" she asked him.

"Not long," Travis replied before brushing his lips against her's. They both smiled even more widely and rested their foreheads together.

"Thank you for being there for me last night," she whispered, looking into his eyes with a beautiful sincerity.

He looked into her eyes with his own gentle sincerity and whispered back, "I will always be there for you."

AN: So, there's the end! I don't know, I felt like that was a good place to end...what do you think? I know it wasn't really great, and I've done better, but I don't know...I don't think it's necessarily awful. Also, I'm sorry if the dialect or details aren't right; I'm researching some things here and there, but it's more difficult than you'd probably think to find some of the answers. ): Anyways, thanks for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following, if you do! :D Later! :P


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